A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging three Maryland men for the federal charges of conspiracy, violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Reform Control Act, related to the export of firearms and ammunition from the United States to Nigeria.
The indictment was announced by Acting US Attorney for the District of Maryland, Jonathan F. Lenzner; along with others.
Charged in the indictment are: Wilson Nuyila Tita, age 45, of Owings Mills, Maryland; Eric Fru Nji, 40 yrs-old, of Fort Washington, Maryland and Wilson Che Fonguh, 39 yrs-old, of Bowie, Maryland.
According to the 4-count indictment, from at least November 2017 through July 19, 2019, the defendants conspired with each other and with others to export from the US to Nigeria defense articles and items identified on the US Munitions List, (USML) and the Commerce Control List without first obtaining export licenses.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that on January 17, 2019, the defendants and their co-conspirators exported, attempted to export, or caused to be exported to Nigeria articles on the USML the export of which was controlled under the Arms Export Control Act, without first having obtained the required license or written approval from the U.S. Department of State,
The items include 38 semi-automatic firearms; over 35,000 rounds of ammunition and 44 magazines.
The defendants also allegedly conspired to conceal from the US that those items were being shipped from the Port of Baltimore, in Maryland, to Nigeria and at least one other location in Africa.
The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly contributed funds for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, reloading materials and other equipment for shipping overseas.
The indictment alleges that the defendants and their co-conspirators communicated about their efforts and plans to ship weapons and ammunition using an on-line encrypted messaging application and code words in order to conceal their activities.
As detailed in the indictment, the defendants and other conspirators concealed the firearms, ammunition, rifle scopes, and other items in heavily wrapped packages and duffle bags, and inside sealed compressor units, placing those items into a shipping container destined for Nigeria without obtaining the requisite licenses from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
If convicted, the defendants each face a mandatory sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy; a maximum of 20 years in federal prison each for violating the Arms Export Control Act and for violating the Export Control Reform Act; and a maximum of 5 years in federal prison for transportation of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Seven defendants have been charged in related cases and of those six have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
